The New Orleans Pelicans are kicking off a new era with Joe Dumars coming in as the vice president of basketball operations.
As such, questions immediately swirled when he was hired regarding the future of Zion Williamson. The former No. 1 overall pick has had an up-and-down tenure in New Orleans, which has led to plenty of questions about whether or not they will move on from him.
Yet, Dumars spoke about that on Wednesday and made a clear stance, per Rod Walker of NOLA.com.
I've had really good conversations with Zion," Dumars said. "We've had lunch. Dinner. Watched playoff games together. We've done it all. I've had some real honest conversations with him. Some real direct and honest conversations. We're going to go forward with Zion. He's going to continue to be a focal point here as we go forward."
So, there it is. Dumars also said he sent Williamson to the NBA Draft lottery as the Pelicans representative "for a reason" as he hopes he can become a focal point of the franchise.
Still, Dumars is stressing accountability for Williamson as the Pelicans begin a new chapter with a new front office.
"We've had some real direct conversations with him about that," Dumars said. "Expectations. Accountability. That's our plan going forward with Zion."
If Zion can stay healthy and play like the player he has the potential of, it could be a big step forward for the Pelicans. But, for now, it doesn't seem like they will even entertain the idea of trading him.